A software product known as BackWeb is a product that manages software updates using push installation. However, unlike the present invention, BackWeb uses an HTTP connection, which requires access to the World Wide Web component of the Internet. The present invention is not so limited. For example, the present invention can work on top of conventional e-mail systems in environments where access to the World Wide Web is not available. E-mail is currently used by over 70 million users worldwide; and provides for a fast, convenient, automatic, and inexpensive way to deploy software updates. Furthermore, the present invention employs true push technology unlike BackWeb, which pulls on a given "channel", i.e., BackWeb looks at a given URL (Universal Resource Locator). In the e-mail embodiment of the present invention, messages are queued and processed efficiently by the e-mail post office, and the user need not maintain constant access to the Internet. Another advantage of the present invention over BackWeb is that the Backweb client software is over 4 megabytes in size, whereas the present invention's agent software is under one megabyte. Finally, the present invention, unlike BackWeb, does not subject the user to viewing vendors' advertisements.